Meet goddess Harmony, Maika, and Melodie!
by PsiOvertake
Summary: My first fanfic! Romance :D The start of a few new characters to the hamham bunch! A hamster named Maika introduces Harmony to the hamhams, explained a little more in the first chappy. Got all 9 chapters completed, with an upcoming sequal!
1. Summoning Harmony!

**(A/N)** My first story - hope you like! Oh, and the ham-hams don't know about the Ham-Ham Heartbreak Harmony - she's introduced differently, but still with the same looks and accessories. 

All the ham-hams gathered around a teepee-style campfire that Panda had constructed. It glowed magnificently against the starry sky and crescent moon, reflecting in all of the hamsters' wide eyes. Maika, a new ham-ham to the group, had been sitting a little ways off in a clearing about ten yards behind the large circle of friends he had made a few weeks ago.

Maika, at first glance, seemed to be a worldly kind of hamster. His fur designs, Stan's brown-coloured body, dark reddish-brown stripe going up his spine with the same coloured long triangles that had tips at his bage waist, and a tan head that gave him a welcoming aura, were quite different from what any of the ham-hams had seen before. Maika also dressed himself in a long white robe with large sleeves that just covered the tips of his paws when he straightened them. He usually had an inviting smile and a cheery personality, but not overly-cheery since he was still in a new and unfamiliar place.

Maika finally stood up near the glowing campfire in the center of all the other ham-hams. He raised his arms out from his sides, holding a beaten and old staff in his right hand. The moon reflected upon the red-orange orb held in place at the top of the staff and the wind blew back the hamster's short fur. He was about to summon the love goddess.

**(A/N)** The song lyrics goes to the melody of "River Below" by Billy Talent - but I'll list the singing tempo if you're unfamiliar with that song (as I'm sure most of you probably are).

The ham-hams stood up and joined paws, still in the large circle surrounding Maika and the campfire. The staff had three small bells at the top just below the orb that gave the music Maika created life and spirit. He lifted the staff and stomped his right foot on the ground for beat 1, and tapped the staff, making the bells jingle, for the upbeat of 1, downbeat of 2, and upbeat of 2. He repeated the same rhythm for most of the song, but changed his dancing moves for the different stanzas. Maika had taught the ham-hams the song, and they learned it by heart since it was great fun to learn such a happy song! The original ham-hams started the song (the loud caps), then Maika came in afterwards (the regular lettering). They all spun and sang for Harmony.

ANCIENT GIRL  
Sacred Queen  
MAKE US REAL  
From your dream  
LOVE STANDS STILL  
Until you come and guide us

WAVING CANE  
Set me free  
PRAISE HER NAME!  
Harmony!  
SUN AND RAIN  
Protect us all with your love

We ham-hams, beseech you  
You know we'd never leave you  
Grace us with, your presence  
The time has come!

From out of the middle of the campfire a translucent ham-ham floated effortlessly. As the dancing continued the ham-ham became more visible, eventually showing finer details likethe ham-ham'srosy cheeks and a magic wand. Maika smiled and knew it was Harmony, but the others were slightly scared of this new hamster appearing. They danced faster and faster until Harmony fully came.

"Hotchuuu! Burning Hotchu!" Harmony landed on the dirt around the fire and began waving her paws at her feet. "Ouchichi... That really hurt!"

"Haha, losing your touch, Harmony?" teased Maika. Harmony first did a sweat-drop, then glared at Maika angrily. Meanwhile, the ham-hams were completely surprised by this new ham-girl! Boss was in awe as he admired how Koochi-Q, and Cappy wondered if Boss's jaw suddenly broke. Bijou remarked to Hamtaro, "oh, she iz so pretty!" Hamtaro responded, "that's a really cool wand she's got..." Bijou giggled a little at how humorously-weird Hamtaro can be at times.

"Hmph," Harmony remarked. "Well, now that you've woken me up, what do you need, Maika?"

"Oh yeah... It's actually sort of hard to explain but umm... I'd like for you to give your blessings over the child and grant Bijou's wish."

"Hmm... now who's Bijou...?" Harmony scanned the ham-hams quickly. "Oh, I see who she is. She's that cute white-furred hamster you were telling me abo-"

"Yeah yeah that's the one," Maika quickly interrupted with a blushie. "Bijou, please come forward with her."

Bijou slowly walked towards Harmony saying "Huffpuff" the entire way. Harmony noticed that Bijou didn't have her usual ribbons in her hair like Maika had described her, but she saw them when she looked more carefully.

In Bijou's arms were her blue ribbons tied together in to a blanket, and inside the blanket was a very small baby-ham. Bijou turned slightly red and whispered, "Maika, why did you make ME the one to carry her?" "Because you're the one with the wish!" Maika whispered back. "Oh yes, that iz right. Silly me," replied Bijou.

"Harmony?" asked Bijou, "can you grant my wish for this baby-ham?"

"Aww, she's so cute... Of course, but have you thought this through?"

"Yes, very much."

"Then I shall age her... about the same age as you."

Just then, Sandy whispered to Pashmina, "like, what's Bijou's wish? I was totally sick the day this whole thing happened."

"Well," Pashmina began, "the baby-ham wouldn't be able to Minglie with any other hams her own age, so if Harmony can make her older then she can play with all of us!"

"But, isn't that like not our decision and kinda messing up, oh, I don't know, TIME?" Sandy was worried that the baby-ham girl would miss out on being a child and having lots of fun, and also all the experiences she would have - and at how strange all of this magic was.

"Nah. Harmony can change her back into a baby if the baby-ham doesn't like our decision - so it's her decision to make pretty much. And I wouldn't worry about messing up the natural laws of the world - I mean, we DID just ritually summon a ham-goddess."

"Well... ok." Sandy still felt uncomfortable, but went along with it.

Harmony had begun waving her magic wand around humming a song very softly. The song had no words and no rhythm. It was a song about the animals on the planet, the plants, the sun and the stars. It was a song that all the ham-hams knew deep inside their hearts but had forgotten it after never remembering. It was a song that was part of them and all life.

"I almost forgot!" Harmony exclaimed. The ham-hams looked at Maika and Harmony nervously (Boss was fully fixed on Harmony). "What's this girl's name?" Hamtaro shuffled alongside Bijou and smiled, whispering, "we named her Melodie..." Bijou blushed slightly, knowing that by "we," Hamtaro meant that they had both decided secretly. Boss was still staring at Harmony's beautiful eyes in a trance that he didn't even notice Hamtaro had moved right next to Bijou and Harmony. There was no one else on the entire planet other than Harmony and Boss.

"Sure thing sweetheart," Harmony murmured to Hamtaro and Bijou. As Harmony resumed waving her wand, Maika thought back to how he first came across Melodie.

**(A/N)** The next chapter will hopefully be up soon! Hope you liked my first fanfic... )


	2. First flashback of Melodie

**(A/N)** Most of this chapter is a flashback, but it's good!

-start flashback-

"Was that a good supper, honey?" asked Julia. "Yes, absolutely delicious!" replied Maika. "Well, I'm going to go and water the crops for a bit... You sure look tired! Maybe take a nap, ok?" Julia kissed Maika and went outside gleefully. Maika slowly walked to his bed and pulled the covers over himself. "I love her so much..." he thought to himself, drifting off to sleep. He slept very comfortably with the sun slightly setting, emitting it's ever-dazzling glow of red as it neared the horizon.

* * *

"CATS! WAKE UP MAIKA, THERE'RE CATS!" Maika sleepily looked at his friend who was flailing his arms. "COME ON MAIKA! WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!" Maika quickly rose out of his bed and looked around. "Where's my wife, Julia?" Maika remembered that before he took a nap, Julia went outside. "Where... where is she?" Maika's friend looked at him with sullen eyes and said in a low tone, "Maika... The cats came from the east fence first, and they've managed to work their way near the houses... Julia was at... the ea... the east-" 

"I know DAMN well where the crops are!" Maika shouted. "Oh no, my poor Julia... Maybe I can still save her!"

"Think, Maika! The cats got there FIRST, and there's not a lotta protection in that area. I'm sorry... but there's nothing you can do..."

"...Alright... I'll gather some food and water from the storage place while you tell everybody else about the cats, ok? You can run quicker than me, so after you tell everybody about the cats have them assemble at the hole in the old tree in the field. Quickly!"

"Right, gotcha!" Maika's friend ran off in a hurry as Maika rushed to his pantry, then the village's storage area, and then to the hole in the old tree.

"Julia... I couldn't save you..." Tears began to fill his heavy eyes. "I'm so sorry..." He sat down on a patch of soft dirt inside the base of the tree. Night had set in and he was exhausted from all the running around he did. "I guess all I can do is wait now. I hope everybody made it out OK..." Maika got back up and went to the preservatives he brought. After placing a large bag over them to protect them from other animals, he sat down and laid against the pile, drifting to sleep in the dark tree.

When he woke up, he scanned the tree to see if anyone had come. It was getting light outside, but nobody was around. "Hello?" Maika confusingly asked. "Hello?" He began to get nervous, so he went to the bag of food and took a sunflower seed and began to krpmkrmp.

He finished and still there was nobody. He looked outside and there was nobody, and back inside again with still nobody. After waiting for a few more minutes, he decided to ask Harmony if she knew where any of his friends were.

Maika took a twig from outside and reached in his pocket, taking out the orb and three bells. He carefully carved an indent at the top of the twig and attached the accessories. Soon, Harmony appeared.

Harmony looked as if she hadn't slept all night. "WELL IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU GOT A HOLD OF ME! I WAS UP ALL NIGHT WAITING FOR YOU TO WAKE UP!" Maika was still depressed thinking of his wife, which made Harmony feel pretty bad about yelling at him. "I'm sorry Maika... I know what happened..."

"Then can you tell me where everybody else is? They should have been here HOURS ago!"

"About ten minutes after you exited the little tunnel that leads outside to this tree, one of the cats jumped on the top of it on this side. It created a blockade so the others couldn't get out... The dirt on the other side was very soft, and the cats dug easily into it... and it only took them a few minutes for them... to get inside the tunnel..."

"You mean... there's nobody?" Maika was devastated as Harmony slowly nodded her head. "No... but... didn't ANYBODY come out? Anyone at all?"

"I'm sorry, Maika. You're the only one."

"Isn't there anything I can do?"

"It's too late for them... We can hold a memorial service later, but I think you should leave here as quickly as you can. The cats have moved into this area so it's getting dangerous. To the west I've been told there are more ham-hams, so there should be plenty of shelter there. I don't know much about them since my ham-goddess friend only quickly traveled through that area. She told me that they seem friendly, though."

"I guess I don't have much choice... You should go back so we have a better chance of sneaking around." As Harmony began to disappear, Maika gathered his belongings and set out to the west, carefully checking every few minutes around him for hungry cats.

After half a day of walking and resting he came to a large patch of trees. He set his bag of food at a tree near the center of the patch and rested, gazing above at the sunlight poking through the bunched leaves. He liked to follow the golden rays down to see where they landed - sometimes on a moss flower, or on some grass, or a patch of dirt, or...?

Maika stood up and walked to what seemed to be a very large leaf. After looking around it, he walked to the tip of the leaf and walked near the middle. "I know I hear something... but what is it? It's getting louder..." A minute later, Maika had come to the stem.

"It's... this lil guy..." Maika came closer to a baby-ham that was wrapped in a few leaves. "Hmm... No notes anywhere so someone didn't leave this fella... How did you get here anyways? Well, I guess I'll just have to take you along with me!" The little baby-ham smiled and giggled as Maika lifted her up. "It's weird... I feel really strange holding you... like I've felt this sensation many times before..." Maika shook off the feeling and went to wrap the baby in some cloth he had ripped from his shirt. He carried the baby along with the bag of preservatives and continued westward.

**(A/N)** The next chapter's gonna finish the flashback, so I'll progress with the real-time storyline after that! Oh, and I think the next chapter's gonna be a bit shorter.


	3. Last flashback of Melodie

After another hour of walking, Maika had come out of the forest to a small open pasture. Heavy clouds were beginning to set in as Maika rested for a little with the baby-ham.

"Look at the beautiful sun setting... It was only yesterday that I saw that same sun descend over the horizon... with the same red glow... but... it's not the same anymore... My Julia..." Maika was feeling a little depressed again, but he got up from the break and continued. The heavy clouds grew bigger and darker. Soon, they were caught in a rainstorm.

"It's getting pretty thick out here!" Maika thought to himself. "Darn, and there's no shelter in a place this open... I'll just have to keep running..." He gripped his food bag tighter and ran faster with the baby in his other hand. "With this mist I can't see anything! ...Wait, what's that ahead?"

* * *

A crack of thunder ripped through the clubhouse after a blazing ray of lightning flashed overhead. Panda had built a skylight above, positioned so that someone could see the sun shining in the afternoon, or the stars and moon at night. Tonight, there were two someones. A line of blue and white appeared as another bolt of lightning ran above. 

"Eet iz marvelous, eh Hamtaro?"

Bijou and Hamtaro were laying on two couches pushed together so they could be side-by-side. A large bolt whisked through the night sky and Bijou gasped a little, being slightly afraid. "So beautiful, no?" Hamtaro glanced at Bijou's shimmering blue eyes. "Yeah, really beautiful..." Bijou turned her head and blushed. "Hehe, you are so silly sometimes... But that iz why I-" CRACK! - the thunder interrupted. "Why you what, Bijou?" "Ah, eet iz nothing..." They both smiled and continued to admire the evening.

A few seconds later, Bijou and Hamtaro heard a frantic banging on the clubhouse door. "What?" asked Hamtaro. "Is Boss home early from his little vacation?" Bijou looked a little worried. "I do not know, but eet sounds important!" Hamtaro rushed to the door and opened it, revealing a soaking wet ham-ham, a large plastic bag, and a baby-ham in his arms.

"Please, may we rest here for the night?"

"Ah... sure! That's ok, right Bijou?" Bijou hesitantly smiled and nodded her head. "Grr, my evening weet Hamtaro iz ruined!" she thought to herself. "Darn, there goes my alone time with Bijou..." Hamtaro similarly thought.

"Do you two have a bed I can sleep on somewhere?" asked the wet ham-ham. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Maika... and this little girl doesn't have a name yet... I just found her not too long ago."

"Heke?" Hamtaro looked at the little baby-ham. Bijou rushed over next to him. "Aww, she iz so cute! Oh, ze extra beds are upstairs, and so iz ze bathroom"

"Thank you," Maika replied. After a moment of pausing, he added, "you two seem like a very good ham-ham couple... I'll let you take care of the little one while I prepare myself for bed. Maybe think of a name for her if you like" Maika handed the baby-ham over to Bijou. After exclaiming "thank you again!" the weary Maika clumsily rushed upstairs.

"But we aren't a-" Bijou began to say, but she heard the upstairs door close. "I mean," she thought while looking at Hamtaro, "we aren't offeecial..."

"Let's sit back down," Hamtaro suggested. They both came to the couch and admired the little baby-ham. "Yeah, she's cute..." Hamtaro held on to the baby for a little while Bijou noticed what a kind father Hamtaro would make. "You look so happy holding her... like you really care for her as eef she was your own," Bijou softly told him. Hamtaro handed back the baby-ham to Bijou.

"What should we name her?" Hamtaro was looking at Bijou, and the question took her a little by surprise. "We?" she thought. "I really don't know, Hamtaro..." "Let's think of a good name then."

After thinking for a few minutes, the two heard a soft murmur coming from the baby-ham. It almost sounded like she was humming a song, but that would be silly for a baby to be humming. "I know that song..." Hamtaro began to say. Bijou looked back. "Yes, I think I know eet too... but I cannot remember..." They listened to the baby hum for a little, and then Hamtaro had a suggestion.

"How about we name her Melodie?" Hamtaro looked at Bijou for approval. "Hehe, I love that name! Yes, we will call zis leettle one Melodie. How do you like that?" Strangely, Melodie started to giggle as if she approved.

An hour later, Bijou and Hamtaro were still with Melodie. "Hmm... I could hold on to her for hours, Hamtaro." "Yeah, it looks like she's falling asleep in your arms. It's kinda cute..." Hamtaro blushed a little, looking at Bijou as a mommy-ham.

Bijou dazed off for a little, thinking of Melodie. She had always wanted a baby-ham to take care of, but it almost seemed like she would never have Hamtaro as her boy-ham as long as Boss was making jealous strides to separate the two. Silently, she said, "so cute... I want one..."

"Want one what, Bijou?"

"Oh, eet iz nothing..."

As Melodie fell asleep, Bijou rested on Hamtaro's shoulders and soon they were dreaming, too.

-end flashback-

**(A/N)** Hehe, I hope you liked the little HB there. I'll resume the real-time in the next chappy! Lots of awesome plot twists and a few romances to come!


	4. Melodie's secret & Feelings for Maika

(A/N) There's so much that happens in this chappy, I couldn't pick a name! xD Hope everyone likes it

Harmony continued humming and waving her wand near Melodie. Hamtaro and Bijou backed off a little bit as Maika advised, so that Harmony could fully concentrate on what she was doing. Then, with a dash of her wand, Harmony said, "hoowa, zoowa zoowa zow!"

Hamtaro leaned in and whispered to Maika. "Hey, are those the real words? They sound kinda made-up."

"You're right, those aren't real words... She just likes to show off."

Hamtaro smiled a little and watched Harmony finishing her spell.

"...zow! Zow zow!"

Nothing happened.

"Huh, that's weird..." Harmony began to say. "Maybe I said the wrong words..."

Maika and Hamtaro fell over anime-style while the other ham-hams wondered what was going on over there.

"Ok, let's try again. Laika laika meekee maka!" Harmony waved her wand again at Melodie, but still, nothing happened.

"Maika... do you know what this means?"

"...? You never told me anything like this that's happened before..."

Harmony looked very upset. "Ugh, you forget so much you dumb oaf!" She started raining heavy blows down on Maika's head while Hamtaro slowly backed away.

"When my magic -WHACK- doesn't work -WHACK- on another ham-ham -WHACK-, that means that the ham-ham is a goddess!" Maika looked at Melodie astonished.

"You mean, on my way here, I found a GODDESS? What was she doing in the middle of a nowhere forest?"

"Ookwee ookwee... (I like that forest...)" Penelope was a little hurt. "Don't worry," said Cappy, "I'll take you to the forest tomorrow so we can play!"

"Ookyo!" Penelope was very happy!

"Suits me," Harmony resumed. "If she was there, then she was meant to be there for a reason. You said she was in a leaf? Were there any flowers near by?"

"Yeah, a few, why?" Maika didn't know what was the point of the question.

"That means she'll grow up to be a good little girl! She was born out of attractive flowers and beautiful nature, so she should have a loving personality as well." She and Maika looked at Melodie who giggled at them. "Aww, so cute!" Harmony went over to the baby-ham and started rubbing her head. "Who's a cute girl? You are! Yes you are, you're a cute little gir-"

"Umm," Bijou said, holding on to her own arms, "it's getting a little cold... the fire's dying out... Can we just head back to the clubhouse?"

This was one of those freaky once-in-a-lifetime times when all the ham-ham's owners were on vacation for a while, so they could all stay at the clubhouse. It happened a few days after Maika first arrived.

Everyone went back and rested for the night with very little happening. Harmony disappeared again for the time being, and Melodie slept in between Cappy and Penelope.

In the morning, Cappy looked to his right and smiled. "She's so cute when she's sleeping..." Penelope stirred a little bit, and woke up with a sleepy "ookyo..." They both looked at each other and smiled, but something wasn't quite right.

"PENELOPE, WHERE'S MELODIE?"

"OOKWEE OOKWEE!" (OH NO, WE LOST HER!)

They started frantically searching for any trace of where Melodie could have gone off to, and after scattering the pillow and blanket Melodie had slept on, they found a note.

"Took Melodie to the stream for a bit. I'll be back before lunch time.  
-Maika"

"Whew, we didn't lose her..."

"Ookwee..."

"C'mon, let's go down to the stream too, since it's really close to the forest anyways."

Meanwhile, Boss was getting everybody assembled so he could make an announcement. When he thought everyone was there, he took a head count.

"Hey, where's Cappy and Penelope? Maika, too! And I don't see Bijou or Harmony anywhe-"

"Here we are, Boss! How could you meess us?" Bijou and Harmony waved to him, and he blushed harder than ever.

"Harmony! I thought only Maika could bring you, umm... so like... we could see you?"

"Nah," Harmony explained, "I just like making a dramatic entrance... It makes me happy!" She smiled at Boss who shyly smiled back, scratching his head.

Bijou explained where the missing ham-hams were. "I found a note saying that Maika and Melodie went to the stream, and I guess Cappy and Penelope wanted to play, so they left too."

"Well, keep an eye on him! He's still not an official part of the club yet... Actually, that's what we're here to discuss! Harmony, do you know if Maika wants to be in our club?"

"I don't know... How about if I get him and bring him back here?"

"That's good!" started Boss. "You can just like poof him back here, right?"

"'Poof'? Hahaha!" Harmony chuckled for a bit, but all the other ham-hams were thinking that she really COULD just poof. I mean, she IS a ham-goddess after all! "I can't -poof- anywhere... I can turn invisible, but I can only go somewhere as fast as you can run, so we have to get Maika the old-fashioned way."

"I weell go weet you, Harmony! I don't theenk you know where eet iz, do you?" Harmony shook her head "no," so they left the clubhouse while the rest of the ham-hams talked about the two new possible members: Harmony and Maika.

Bijou and Harmony started walking east, near the river. Harmony had something on her mind and wanted to tell Bijou, but Bijou spoke first.

"Hey, Harmony... Are you close weet Maika?"

Harmony blushed a little bit. "Yeah..."

"Hehe, I thought so! But I think he likes me... He's been looking at me when he theenks I don't noteece, and he always smiles and blushes a leetle when I greet him."

"Well..." Harmony looked very uncomfortable. "You look a lot like his wife..."

"He has a wife? He never said anytheeng about 'er! I can't believe that-"

"She passed away not too long ago..." Harmony fidgeted a little bit - it was awkward for her to bring up Maika's past.

"Ah? What hapenned?"

Harmony then told Bijou about what happened to the village where he came from, since Maika never really mentioned it to any of the ham-hams.

"That iz so sad... I'm glad that you were there for him!"

"Yeah..." Harmony was always close with Maika, but he never seemed to notice. After he had gotten married, Harmony was never quite the same when she was around him. "He's the one I chose..."

"Like a favorite?" Bijou was starting to get confused.

"Well... Usually ham-goddesses are by themselves - making special appearances only during big events and festivals. But we can pick a special ham-ham that we travel around with... Maika doesn't need to do a special ceremony to call on me... but he likes to do it anyways since he knows it makes me happy. He's the most special ham-ham I've ever met, and-"

"And you like him a lot, don't you?" Bijou knew exactly what Harmony was talking about. After all, she felt the same way about Hamtaro!

"Umm... well..." Harmony could only blush harder.

"Well, let's find him then!"

"Hehe, thank you Bijou..." Bijou kept walking with Harmony until they reached the stream where they found Penelope and Cappy skipping stones.

"Have you two seen Maika?" Harmony was trying to gather some words for Maika for when she meets up with him.

"Yeah," replied Cappy, "but he kept walking towards the forest. He said he had to take care of something and so we're watching Melodie for him."

"What's that way?" asked Bijou. She looked up at Harmony who looked like she was going to have a nervous breakdown.

"Oh no... That's where his village was, and there's still cats lurking there!" Harmony rushed off eastward as quick as she could. "Oh, Maika, what could you be thinking?"


	5. Requiem for Julia

**(A/N)** I'm bumping the rating up to T, since maybe 8-year-olds shouldn't be this depressed! Kind of a sad chappy...

Maika slowly walked out of the forest after a very slow day. It was mid-afternoon now, and the ham-hams were probably wondering where he was.

"Oh well," he said. "They'll be just fine I'm sure..."

Maika painfully drug himself to the hole in the old tree where he slept the night of the attack. He stopped for a moment, then looked around for cats, then carefully crept near the hole. He Hiff-hiff'd for a second or two, then peeked inside eagerly.

Empty.

He really was all alone. The only living things he knew in this area were cats, and they sure didn't care about what he was doing there. Probably nobody cared - nobody except for Julia.

Maika continued walking until he reached the collapsed tunnel that lead inside the village. He walked around to the north entrance where a large gate stood. At the top of it was a large banner saying "Welcome!" which reminded him that his village was full of friendly ham-hams. Maika dug underneath the gate for a minute or two, and produced a fairly large brass key. He put it into place in the middle of the gate and opened it.

Inside was nothing but ruin and devastation. A light rain had started to spatter along with a soft breeze. Maika made his way to a hill at the center of the village where he could see everything around him. He began to think of his friends he had lost, of the cats that came, of all the years of work gone to waste, and more than anything else - Julia. Maika sat down on the small dirt hill and closed his eyes and his arms open. A few moments later, he opened his eyes, expecting Julia to be there in front of him, ready to hold him close to her as she had always done. But there was no Julia; there was only a dejecting nocturne he had deep in his heart.

The song he sang was for his village, for his friends, for Julia, and for himself. The first two lines of each stanza were full of anger, nearly a scream; but it wavered off a little for the remaining lines. (A/N) If you've ever seen Les Miserable, it sounds like one of the later songs I've been told.

Maika sat down again, cross-legged, and formed small droplets in his eyes amidst the shallow puddles of water developing around him. His heart knew this was the right thing to do - he had to just let go. He started to moan his song, very slowly.

_Ghostly screaming in the cropfield,  
__Bloody gashes on the doors,  
__The cats have come and robbed me  
__Of all that I  
__Adore._

Maika looked up at the sky, and felt as if Julia had been there waiting for him to come back to her.

_Could you see my cringing body...?  
__Could you taste the tears I bore?  
__All alone inside that den,  
__My slitted heart  
__Did outpour._

_Oh where's your JULIA, dear Maika!  
__Could you not save her from before?  
__You were sleeping in your bedroom,  
__Where she will sleep  
__No more..._

Maika stood up with tears in his eyes, his voice shaking.

_Now I must continue on...  
__I must keep pressing forward..._

A cat had spotted Maika, just a few feet away.

_I'll try to live my life without you..._

The cat quickened its pace, nearing Maika with every second.

_But is life worth living_

The cat raised its claw.

_Anymore?_

"MAIKA! NO!" The cat thrust its paw down at Maika, who stood there motionless with his eyes closed. He opened them a second later to find that the cat was scampering away, shaking its paw with pain. A half-circle with a greenish tint had appeared in front of him.

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, MAIKA?" Harmony came out from the gate, casting small spark spells at the fleeing cat. "You almost got yourself killed! Good thing I came in to save the day, huh?" She was still terribly angry with Maika, but she smiled with triumph over the feline. Meanwhile, Maika was flailing his arms about, saying something.

"HARMONY! TO YOUR RIGHT!"

"Heke?" Harmony took a step back, causing the near-fatal claw from another cat to merely graze her cheek. Another blow came from the other paw, knocking her back nearly a foot.

Maika rushed over to Harmony and grabbed her wand. He shook it furiously at the cat, but merely small fire spells came out, only slowing the cat down. The cat was at their feet and opened it's mouth to devour them.

"Ah, to heck with it!" Maika threw the wand into the cat's mouth, causing the cat to stop in its tracks. Its four legs started shaking, then its ears and nose twitched, then all of a sudden, it disappeared.

"Oh Harmony, I'm so sorry! I never should have came back to this village... Look at you! Your poor face..." Maika knelt down and rubbed his paw on Harmony's scratched cheek. He tore off a little bit of his shirt to try to soak the few droplets of blood that had come out.

"M...Maika... Are you safe?"

"Please, don't speak, Harmony. I'm... I'm here for you..." Maika lifted Harmony in his arms and made his way back to the main gate where he paused. "There's nothing back there for me..." Maika carried her to the old tree where they rested for a few hours.

Harmony woke up with Maika humming a soothing tune, still holding on to her. She kept her eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. The tune that Maika hummed was the same one Harmony sang for him the first time they met, as well as for Melodie's blessing. It didn't really have a name, so he decided to call it "Angel's Lullaby." When he told Harmony, she was filled with delight at such a fitting name. They sang it often, together and alone, because it reminded them that they would always have each other to rely on.

Harmony remained in Maika's caring arms for a long time, and even though Maika had realized that she had come out of her sleep, he let it go and decided to pretend, too.


	6. The meeting

Harmony had fallen back asleep in Maika's arms just as Maika began to slowly stand up. He took another look at Harmony, smiled, then frowned. "What am I doing?" he thought. "Julia... what would Julia think of me? Am I to get over her so quickly? Oh, I pray that you are not watching me now with another girl-ham..." Maika, feeling ashamed, let Harmony down slowly on a soft patch of dirt. "Well, she'll be safe here... Wait, what am I thinking! She has a pretty bad wound... I can't just leave her!" He picked Harmony back up again, checked outside for cats, then headed west to the river. "I just don't know what's right anymore!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the clubhouse, the ham-hams were growing a little impatient and decided to get a jump-start on the meeting.

"Okay!" began Boss. "Let's just assume that they wanna join our club. Are we gonna let 'em in? Speak up fellow ham-hams!"

"Well, I think it's a very good idea!" Maxwell started.

"Agreed," Dexter concurred.

"Yeah, they can help us find more seeds!" Oxnard's stomach grumbled a little, causing him to Blushie.

"Maika looks almost as strong as you, Boss! He could probably help with gathering any materials for our projects." Panda looked pleased with having a new helping-ham in the club. **(A/N)** Helping-HAM, you get it? xD Hahaha...

"Hey hey! They could be some customers to mah store!" Howdy said in his usual weird dialect.

Snoozer turned over and faced Boss. "Zuzuzu... Sounds good..."

"Heh, I guess that's cool. More Hamigos, ya know?" Stan shook his maracas.

"Yeah! It's always good to have more friends!" Hamtaro exclaimed happily.

"Alright, we've heard from the boys, so how about you girls?" Boss looked at Pashmina first.

"You know I'm not gonna disagree with that, Boss!" said Pashmina, smiling.

"Like, it'll be so much fun!" cheered Sandy.

"Good good!" replied Boss. "We still have to wait for the other hams to come back, but it's definitely looking like Harmony's gonna join our happy crew!"

Hamtaro looked at Boss a little confused. "Umm, Maika and Melodie too, right?"

"Uhh, yeah! Sure!" Boss Blushie'd a little with a sweat drop. Everyone else just sighed.

* * *

"Hey you four!" Maika Heyhoo'd to Bijou, Cappy, Penelope, and Melodie.

"Oh dear! What happened to Harmony?" Bijou rushed over to Harmony, who was standing now, and looked at the scrapes on her cheek. "Thees iz terrible!"

Cappy and Penelope brought Melodie over to look at Harmony. They started asking Maika what happened as Bijou brought Harmony to a small stump so they both could sit down.

"Well, Harmony met up with me at my old village... She saved me from a cat, but another cat caught her off-guard and swiped at her... We barely made it out alive."

Maika looked over at Harmony who leaned in to whisper something to Bijou. Bijou smiled and hugged Harmony.

"I think we should bring her back to the clubhouse to rest," Cappy suggested. Maika nodded his head in agreement and walked over to Harmony and Bijou.

"You need to recover, Harmony. Let's go back to the clubhouse." Maika grabbed her paw and helped her stand. She rested her left arm over Maika's shoulders as the six ham-hams trekked homeward.

* * *

"HARMONY!" Boss Daplunk'd down to the main level and ran to her side.

"Please, Boss," said Bijou. "We're taking 'er upstairs to rest. All of us weell talk about thees later." Boss looked disappointed, but allowed Maika to carry Harmony upstairs.

"I swear, if he hurt her in any way I'll... I'll..."

"Boss?" Bijou tugged on Boss's arm, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Have you decided eef they can join us yet?"

"Let's talk about that tomorrow. Harmony needs to rest, and I don't wanna decide anything without her here." Boss looked at everyone and raised his voice. "You got that, hams?" They all nodded, a little afraid of Boss's attitude. "Good. It's getting late, so let's have supper."

"Finally..." said Oxnard.

"We're running a little low on sunflower seeds, so why don't we go and look for some?" Boss agreed with Hamtaro, and so everyone set out to look for seeds.

"If we go in pairs, we can gather them faster," added Boss. "So everybody buddy up!"

"Oh wait," Boss thought, "Harmony's laying down... well, I guess I can search with Bij-"

"Hey Boss, can I come with you?" Cappy asked. "Pashmina got to Penelope before I did, so I was wondering, if you're not paired up yet..." Boss let out a low sigh and agreed.

So here's who's together (Snoozer stayed behind, of course):

Boss and Cappy  
Oxnard and Stan  
Pashmina and Penelope  
Maxwell and Sandy  
Hamtaro and Bijou  
Howdy, Dexter, and Panda (Panda had to keep them apart so they wouldn't start fighting)  
Maika and Melodie

* * *

"Wow, you're really growing fast, Melodie." She was starting to crawl much to Maika's surprise. "You really are a special girl... I'm glad that I could take care of you." Maika started thinking back to the special girl that he knew, the girl that he took care of, the one he's always had a special bond with. "I wonder what she said to Bijou...?" he thought to himself. He and Melodie kept moving along, and soon Maika started talking out loud to himself. "Well, if Julia wanted me to be with someone in case I was ever alone, it would probably have to be- ACK!"

Maika tripped over a small rock and landed face-first in some mud. Melodie looked back at him and started laughing. "Yeah yeah, go ahead and laugh, little one..." Melodie came over and started playing in the mud with Maika.

"Oh no, we still have to look for seeds! Come on, Mel- Hey, watch it! You're getting my face all dirty..." Maika sobbed, exaggerating how sad he was. He secretly smiled, took some mud and tossed it, hitting Melodie's stomach. She laughed even more and started to crawl on Maika's chest.

"Well, we can play for a little... but just a bit, ok?" Melodie sat down on Maika, lightly pinning him to the ground.

"Ok," she said.

* * *

Hamtaro and Bijou had gathered quite a large amount of sunflower seeds and decided to rest a bit before they head back to the clubhouse. Bijou lied on the ground as Hamtaro brought an armful of seeds and put it on Bijou's pile. They looked at the sun as it was setting. The light played upon the clouds around it, changing their colour to brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red. There was a half-moon that barely revealed itself high above, with the night following after. Bijou stared dreamily at the horizon with Hamtaro.

"Hey Bijou... Do you think Boss would be ok with us being together? He's been after you for a long time..."

"I don't know, Hamtaro... I hope we can be together."

"But, he has an eye on Harmony now! So if he's after her, then we'll be fine together, don't you think?"

"I theenk she has an eye on someone else..."

"Really? I knew I was a good-looking ham, but I didn't think-"

"Oh stop eet Hamtaro" Bijou playfully pushed Hamtaro on his side, giggling. Hamtaro rolled back over ending up with his stomach on Bijou's, their eyes adoringly gazing at the other's.

"S...Schmubby-wubby, Bijou..."

"Schmubby-wubby, Hamtaro..."

Their noses rubbed against each other's and they Blushie'd uncontrollably. They both smiled, then Hamtaro laid next to Bijou like before.

"So what makes you think Harmony likes another ham?"

"Oh, just sometheeng she told me..."

_I never felt safer... than when I was in his loving arms..._


	7. Competition for Harmony

**(A/N)** Sorry for the long update! This chapter mostly sets up the remaining few chapters...

Cappy was on top of a sunflower, gathering some seeds and throwing them down to Boss. He jumped from one flower to another, talking the whole time, and occasionally Krmpkrmp'ing on a seed or two.

"Boss! There's so many on this one! Oooh, and this one, too!" Cappy jumped to the next sunflower. "Diggi-duggi... WOW! Even more here!" Cappy threw some more sunflowers to Boss, who wasn't talking very much. "Hey Boss, you ok down there?"

"What? Yeah, just go back to gettin' some more seeds..."

"Hmm... Boss is bummed out about something," Cappy thought to himself. "It's probably about a girl. Hehe, I'm so glad I have Penelope!" Penelope flashed in his mind and he started to daydream.

"Hey, you still workin' up there or what?"

"Aah, sorry, Boss! Diggi-duggi..."

"I wonder if Maika's already made his move on Harmony," thought Boss. "I guess I have to really hurry before he gets to her! ...But how? Maybe I can give her a really big sunflower seed... Do ham-goddesses even like sunflower seeds?" Boss kept rambling in his thoughts as Cappy found a really big sunflower seed.

"This one's HUGE! Here 't comes, Boss! Grrr...ooba!" The large sunflower seed fell down straight at Boss, who was still lost in his thoughts. "Boss!"

Boss looked up, but not really paying much attention. "Wow, that big one might win her heart if I can give it to her... But how am I gonna hide that big seed from the other hams? Cappy could probably help m-"

PLUNK! The seed hit Boss in the head, knocking him down. "Hey, Boss, you ok?"

Boss lied on the ground for a little.

"Umm... Boss?"

"WHY YOU NO-GOOD HAM! WHY'D YOU HAVE TO LUG THAT HUGE THING AT ME! I SWEAR, IF I GET MY HANDS ON YOU-" Boss waved his arms angrily at Cappy.

"S-sorry, Boss!" Cappy quickly went back to the sunflower and tossed more seeds at Boss. "Diggi-duggi Diggi-Duggi DIGGI-DUGGI!" More and more seeds flew but Boss couldn't keep up. The seeds started to pile on top of each other and covered Boss completely, creating a small pile of seeds with Boss underneath. Cappy finally stopped and looked down.

"Eh... Boss?"

"Cappy... I think we have enough seeds for now," said the muffled voice underneath the sunflower seeds. Cappy scratched the back of his head and did a sweat-drop.

* * *

"Harmony! What are you doing up?" Maika and Melodie were the first ones home, and Harmony was sitting on the couch with her wand. 

"Oh, hi Maika! I'm all better now, see?" She pointed to her cheek, completely scratch-free as if it never happened.

"Umm, I kinda threw your wand at one of the cats... how'd you get that?"

"I "poof'd" it of course!" Harmony smiled and laughed a little, and Maika laughed with her. "Want some help with those seeds?"

"Sure, thanks!" Maika and Harmony unloaded the seeds on the table and sat down on the couch.

"Umm... Maika... There's something I've been wanting to tell you..."

"Me first, ok? Ok ok, get this... MELODIE TALKED!"

"Huh? Well it's about time!"

"Heke?"

"Ham-goddesses are a bit different when they age," Harmony explained. "You see, for every one day, ham-goddess babies age a whole month!"

"Then why don't you look old, Harmony?" Maika realized that his question sounded a little weird, so he shied away a little.

"It's ok! Well, after a certain age we slow down a lot and preserve our age for the most part. We grow up quick in case we're needed, but after that we stay around for a long time... probably about three of your lifetimes."

"Ok... Well, what did you wanna tell me?"

Just then, Boss and Cappy rushed through the clubhouse door. Boss was carrying most of the seeds, and Cappy carried the really big seed to Boss's room.

"Harmony! You're better!" Boss dropped his sunflower seeds and rushed to Harmony's side, pushing Maika off of the couch with a loud thud.

"Umm... hi, Boss! Lots of seeds you got there..."

"Yeah, and they're just for you!"

Maika tugged on Boss's leg, still on the floor. "I thought they were for everyone, Boss?"

Boss gave Maika a dirty look that screamed "why don't you just shut up!"

"Yeah, they're for everyone... Why don't you go and set up the table until the rest of the hams get here?"

Maika slowly got up and looked over to Harmony. "I'm glad you're feeling better. I'll have dinner for you so just sit tight, ok?"

Harmony's eyes lit up as she thought to herself, "dinner... for me? He means he's making it especially for me? Wow..."

Boss glared at Maika as he thought the same thing. "Grr... I gotta make a move here before Maika takes her for good!"

"So uhh, Harmony..." Boss raised his arm and put it on the back of the couch. "You look especially pretty toda-"

"Hey, Boss! Seed's all hidden!" Cappy rushed in, making Boss jump a little from the shock. "And it looks like everyone's coming back, too." Cappy pointed to the window at the other hams with arm-fulls of sunflower seeds.

"...Great... Thanks, Cappy..."

* * *

"Alright hams" Boss said, "let's go ahead and eat!" The ham-hams started Krmpkrmp'ing down the bounty of sunflower seeds they gathered. Bijou kept secretly looking at Maika, and knowing that he ate fast, she finished her meal earlier than usual. 

"Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" Bijou grabbed Maika's paw and pulled him into the next room. Hamtaro wondered if every thing was alright, Boss moved a little closer to Harmony, and Oxnard didn't even notice since he was so happy to be eating so many sunflower seeds.

"Maika, there's sometheeng I need to ask you..." Bijou blushed and looked at Hamtaro who was still clueless. "Do you... believe een true love?"

"Of course! I did have a wife, ya know..." Maika moved around a little awkwardly and frowned.

"I'm so sorry eef I made you uncomfortable!"

"Nah, don't worry about it... But, why did you wanna know?"

"You see that girl right there?" Bijou pointed to Harmony, who was trying to move away a little from Boss's advancements. "She ah... cares very much for you. Don't you feel ze same way about 'er?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, of course! But umm... I don't know... I don't know if Julia would appreciate me being with another ham-girl... And besides, she's a ham-goddess! I'm sure she wouldn't want a regular ham like me or anything... I-I just don't know..." Maika sat down on the couch and looked up at Bijou. "You should go back to Hamtaro; he's probably wondering what's keeping you."

Bijou frowned and started to walk away when Maika added, "umm... thanks for talking to me, Bijou... And no matter what, she'll always be my ham-goddess."

"'Yours'? So you 'own' her like a genie?"

"Nah, that's not what I meant... She's 'my' goddess just like I'm 'her' ham-ham. We've been through so much that we're just part of one another now." Maika paused for a second before he continued. "...Maybe I'll have a talk with her later on..."

"I hope you do eet soon; Boss iz trying to ween 'er 'eart I theenk." Bijou let out a small sigh of relief that at least Boss wasn't going for her anymore; or at least, not at the moment.

"Thanks for your advice, Bijou. I'll talk with Harmony after everyone's done eating."


	8. And so it begins

After supper, most of the ham-hams lounged around the clubhouse with not much to do. Most of them were pretty tired from gathering the sunflower seeds, and Oxnard, especially, was tired from all the eating. Harmony was laying down next to Snoozer, just looking at the ceiling.

"There she is," Boss said to himself. "Now's my chance!" Boss walked a little closer to Harmony and called out to her. "Hey, Harmony... can we talk outside? You know, so nobody else is around?"

"You can talk to me here," Harmony said, looking left and right. "It's just me and Snoozer."

"Yeah, but... please?"

Harmony sighed, got up, and went outside with Boss.

"Is... is Boss making a move on her?" Maika thought to himself from afar. He felt nervous, but stood up and started walking to the door after them. Boss and Harmony walked through the door and closed it with Maika towards it faster. He wasn't sure what he felt - jealous, angry, upset; he just didn't know. Just as he was about to put his paw on the door, another ham-ham stepped in front of him, blocking the exit.

"Hey ham-dude, just where do you think you're goin'?"

"Come on, Stan, I need to see what Boss is trying to do! Outta my way!"

"Whoah whoah, and what are you planning to do then?"

Maika looked down at his feet. "I don't know... But what do you care! I need to make sure that-"

"That Boss doesn't take Harmony? You care for her a lot then, huh? Well, that's cool I guess." Stan pulled out his maracas. "But just leave the rest..." Then he pointed them at himself. "...to the best!"

"Do you try to rhyme or does it just come out that way?"

"Umm... anyways! I'm the best ham-ham romancer here, so I should be able to give you a few tips to make sure you get the girl. You know, I ALWAYS get my girl"

Stan leaned in and whispered a few things to Maika. Sandy saw the two talking and decided to join in the discussion. Stan was pointing to things like his teeth, his maracas, his dancing feet, then finally pointed to Sandy.

"Just give it a go!" Stan said. With that, Maika walked towards Sandy and greeted her.

"Hey there good-lookin'! First we dance..." Maika grabbed on to Sandy's paws with a big smile. "...then we romance!" They started spinning around while Stan looked at them, pleased. Sandy Blushie'd at first, but then she saw Stan and knew this was his doing. She stopped spinning and grabbed on to Stan's ear. "Come on bro. You're like, corrupting this guy," she said while dragging him away. Sandy came back and told Maika to sit down.

"Look, don't listen to my bro. He like thinks he knows all this stuff but he really doesn't, okay? I'd probably be able to help you a lot more than HE could!" Sandy laughed a little to herself, but Maika looked at her, concerned, and asked her, "well, can you help me, then?"

Sandy stopped laughing and sat down, looking at her feet. "Umm... sure..." She looked into Maika's intent eyes, Blushie'd, and looked back down.

"He's like TOTALLY cute when he's all serious like that," she thought to herself. "Wait, what am I thinking! I have Maxwell... Even though things have been a little boring with him lately, we're still, like, the official ham-ham couple! I... I can't just drop him for another guy... And Maika likes Harmony! We'd be doomed from the start... unless Boss got Harmony..."

"Are you ok, Sandy?" Maika grabbed her chin gently and lifted her face up.

"Yeah, totally! Umm..." Maika let go and put his paws on his lap, listening intently. Sandy tried her best to hide her blush. "Harmony's a great girl... I can see why you like her so much..."

"I still don't know... I mean, I'm pretty sure that I like her... I get really jealous when Boss tries to be alone with her, so I think I like her." Maika still wasn't entirely sure of his feelings, but he wanted to pursue Harmony.

Sandy started thinking to herself again. "Maybe I DO have a chance then... No, no, ignore it, girl! You like, already have a boyfriend! Okay, okay, just give him some sound advice..." Sandy sighed and tried her best to smile at Maika.

"Well, first you gotta like get her alone, so you can, you know, really talk to her and make her feel special..." Sandy started rubbing her feet timidly. "And umm, just tell her how you feel... Tell her what you like about her, and that she's really cool, and yeah..." Sandy looked at Maika's face and shyly smiled. He grabbed Sandy's paws and they both stood up.

"T-thank you so much, Sandy! You're the best friend a guy like me could ever have!" Maika wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big hug. Sandy did the same and rested her head on his shoulder, smiling, not completely wanting to let go.

"A friend, huh? Well, I guess that's best for right now..." she supposed.

"! Is that a kiss? Or are they just hugging? It looks more like a hug..." Harmony thought to herself. "So you've finally moved on, Maika?" She was walking behind Boss, but was looking back through a window watching Maika and Sandy. "I guess... I need to move on, too..."

"Harmony, there's something I've been wanting to tell you..." Boss turned around and held on to Harmony's paws. "Ever since you first came I've been mesmerized by how beautiful you look."

"Hehe, it kinda comes with the job..." Harmony shook her wand a little bit and smiled. "You know, being an ugly love ham-goddess just won't do."

Boss moved in a little closer. "Harmony..."

* * *

"I gotta go see what's happening right away!" Maika rushed out the door, making the daydreaming Sandy nearly fall over.

"O... okay... Good luck!" Sandy went back to Pashmina and Bijou to chit-chat.

Maika rushed out of the door and saw Boss and Harmony standing in an open area. "Not a lot around for me to hide in nearby..." He scanned the area but only found a small bush. "Guess that has to do..." Maika snuck to the bush and tried to listen in, but he couldn't hear anything other than muffling coming from Boss and Harmony. He peeked through a small opening and saw Boss holding on to her closely.

"Harmony..." Boss said again, "I want you to be my ham-girl..."

"But, don't you like Bijou?"

Boss thought back on all the memories he had with Bijou. She was a great girl - pretty, funny, adoring, everything he wanted, but he could see her slowly slipping away from him, and he had to move on. "She's nothing compared to you, Harmony," Boss told her. He moved even closer.

"! I... I can't just let this happen!" Maika stood up, but then sat back down. "If she's moved on... there's nothing I can do..." He started to sink away back into the clubhouse when Harmony turned around and saw him.

"Maika!" She let go of Boss's hands and went to go after him, but she just froze. "I don't know what you want anymore..." She laid backwards and Boss held on to her, his arms wrapping around above her chest. Harmony closed her eyes and wished for a miracle.

Maika turned around, filled with indecision and anger. "What am I doing? I can't just stand by while some other ham takes Harmony away from me! I just won't have it!" Boss let go of Harmony as Maika walked closer to them.

Harmony stared deep into Maika's passionate eyes as he spoke to her. "Harmony... there comes a time in every ham's life where he's faced with something he doesn't completely understand. He doesn't know which way to turn or what to think - he only has his feelings deep inside his heart." Maika made a fist and spoke even louder. "And those feelings are telling me not to give up on you! Harmony, I..." He lowered his head, "I've been looking to the sky to find my angel..." Maika looked back up at Harmony, with tears in his eyes. "...But I know now that my angel has been right here the whole time... You're the only one I wanna be with; the only girl for me is you!"

Harmony jumped into Maika's arms, almost knocking him down. Boss just stood there, shocked. "I was so close," Boss began to say. "I'm... I'm not giving up, either!" Boss pointed to Maika saying "you hear that, ham! I'm not letting her slip out of my arms so easily so back off!"

By now, the ham-hams inside the clubhouse heard the commotion and ran outside.

"Oh no! They could start fighting!" Hamtaro rushed towards Maika and Boss, hoping he could stop an all-out brawl over Harmony.

"What have I caused...?" Harmony backed away from them, nearing the group. "I'm no love goddess... All I've caused is hatred..."


	9. The conclusion

**(A/N)** Sorry again for the long update! Here's chappy 9, the last one for this story!

Boss and Maika stared down each other as static sparks flew between them. Hamtaro made it over just in time before any punches were thrown.

"Come on guys, don't fight!" Hamtaro said frantically. "I'm sure you two can work this out, you know?"

Boss kept staring at Maika while he spoke. "Pipe down, Hamtaro. This is something I gotta do. You already took Bijou away from me, so I can't afford to lose Harmony!"

Hamtaro's jaw dropped as he backed away slowly. He wasn't sure what Boss just said... "So he's just giving her to me? Did he already know about us? How much did he know?" More thoughts ran though his head, but all he could say was, "I... I..."

"I don't wanna have to fight you, Boss," Maika began to say. "It just goes against my code... But if you insist, then I don't have a choice!" They both started walking closer to each other slowly, ready to attack. But just before they were within striking range, they heard a faint sound.

"Stop..."

They turned around and saw Melodie, trying to walk in front of the group. "Fighting... makes hate and bad things... So no fight."

Maika and Boss looked at each other, then sat down on the ground, almost as if they had no control over their actions. They looked back at Melodie and suddenly felt calm and mellow - almost subdued. "We're... sorry..." Boss and Maika both said.

Harmony stepped out from the group and sat down next to Melodie. "You're... I know what kind of ham-goddess you want to be... ! This is so relieving!" She stared down at Melodie, who gleefully looked back up at her. "You've made your choice already?"

"No... not yet... but soon, okay?"

"Heke?" the entire group, including Maika and Boss, said.

"Let me explain..." Harmony stood up so everyone could hear her. "When ham-goddesses like us are born, unless there's a DIRE need for a certain type of ham-goddess, we're free to choose what we want to be. Like you all know I stand for Love, but there are more types like Justice, Hope, Serenity, and a few others. We all have our own special and unique part in the world. You can't see it most of the time, but we're there, helping you along as best as we can!"

Sandy looked at Harmony and asked, "but then why are you like always with Maika if most hams don't even see you?"

"Well that's because... Umm... He's just... special to me, that's all..."

Sandy felt heartbroken. She knew that a girl like Harmony could have any ham she wanted, so she'd have no chance at all with Maika. She felt a rush of depression come on, but that didn't stop her from shouting, "isn't that like greedy of you! You're totally abusing your love powers to have any ham that you want!"

Everyone stared at her with a bit of shock, not knowing at all where this surge of emotions came from. Sandy turned red from anger and frustration, and then plopped down hard on the ground. She started to cry loudly.

"You're... right..." Harmony sat down, too. "I would be abusing my powers if I did that... Not only that, I'd be neglecting my responsibilities... I'm the only love ham-goddess in this entire area, so I have no choice but to stay single and attend to my duties..." She glanced over at Melodie and thought, "but if you chose to be a love ham-goddess... then I could be free from all of that..."

Melodie glanced up at her and said, "don't worry, I will be."

* * *

The stars had just began to shine down on the earth below. Inside the clubhouse, most of the ham-hams were sleeping. An hour ago, the larger group had moved back inside, leaving Harmony, Melodie, Maika, Boss, Sandy, and Stan outside. Stan put his arms around his sister and hugged her.

"It's ok sis... Let's just head back in for now, okay?"

Maika and Boss stood up and silently walked back inside, too. Harmony lifted Melodie into her arms and carried her to the clubhouse.

Sandy was in her room, staring out of a window at the stars. "Foolish dreamers turn their gaze..." she said to herself. "I guess I'll never know what might have been between us, Maika..." She put her paws on her heart and closed her eyes. "We have our own hams... We can't have each other..."

Pashmina was walking outside of her door with a glass of water in her paws. She heard light sobbing from inside, so she decided to check in and see what was the matter.

"Sandy? Are you okay?" She nearly dropped her glass as she ran to Sandy's side.

"Yeah, I'm fine... I'm just a little love-sick I guess..."

"Did you and Maxwell break up or something? That's terrible!"

"No no, it's not that at all... I just have a crush on someone who I know I can't be with."

"Sandy, this isn't like you... You have Maxwell to look after you!" Pashmina looked concerned that Sandy might be having second thoughts about her long-time boyfriend. "Maybe you should just some rest... It's been a big day..."

"You're right... Thanks for the talk, Pashy." Sandy smiled and lied down on her bed. Pashmina walked out of the room and said, softly, "you're a very lucky girl to have a nice boy-ham like Maxwell... Don't ever let him go"

Pashmina closed the door, leaving Sandy alone with her thoughts. "I know he's a totally great guy... but it's just like... I dunno... I should get some rest..." She hugged her pillow and closed her eyes, falling asleep.

* * *

Boss looked at the clock next to him. The clock read 1:37. "I need sleep..." He stared at the ceiling and let any thoughts he had come to him. He heard Cappy sleeping peacefully (Cappy decided he should keep Boss company that night), the crickets chirping outside, and his heart steadily beating. "Will there ever be a girl for me? Am I really to be alone forever?" He rolled over to his side and tried to fall asleep, but he couldn't. He opened his eyes again. 2:14. Then 2:48, then 3:21. "I need... to stop thinking..."

He rolled to his back again and, with a very small tear, fell asleep. Later on in the morning, Boss would remember last night's dream very vaguely. The only thing that will stick in his mind is a soft feminine voice telling him, "I'm so glad we can be together..."

* * *

Harmony was also having trouble sleeping. "I miss him already... I think I'll check up on him..." She got out of bed and turned invisible, saying, "hehe, the perks are endless!" She quietly slipped out the door into Maika's room. She heard his very soft breathing as he slept and decided to move a little closer.

"He's so cute when he's sleeping... I feel bad that he doesn't have a bed yet... He has to sleep on the ground..." Harmony fluffed his pillow a little and moved the blankets up to cover him to his neck. Then she started to feel a very weird sensation. She moved even closer to Maika and laid on the floor next to him, feeling the warmth coming from his body.

"I love you... but I can't love you," she thought to herself. "I have other responsibilities... And unless someone takes over, then I'm going to have to stay with them for as long as I live... even if it's without you..." Harmony put her paw on Maika's side, wishing they could always be together. "Even if it's just for tonight... I want to be with you..." She pressed her paw on him tighter, which caused him to stir a little.

"...? Mmm... -yawn- Who's there?" Maika turned to his side and saw no one, but he felt warmer than usual. "...Is that you, Harmony?" He waved his paw around next to him, trying to feel if she was there. Lucky for Harmony, she had stood up and moved away quietly. "...Oh well..."

She started to walk away when she tripped over something on the floor.

"Ugh! Great, now he knows I'm here..." She turned herself visible and picked up the object she tripped over. "You know what?" she said. "You really gotta learn to pick up things and keep your room neater!"

"Harmony, what're you doing here?"

She blushed a little, but Maika couldn't see it. "I just... wanted to see how you were doing..."

"Well, I _was _sleeping, but it's ok. Do you have something on your mind?" Maika sat up attentively.

"No... I just wanted... umm... to see you..." she replied, hesitantly. "Actually... I wanted to be with you tonight... I don't know if we can ever be together as a couple, so I just wanted to be with you right now... Ham-goddesses aren't supposed to have relationships or else they'd get too distracted with their duties... but... I can't help the way I feel... And I can't stop it either..." She sat down and put her warm, gentle paws on his. "So please... just for tonight... I wanna be with you..."

"If it's just for one night... I wouldn't consider that a 'relationship,' so I think we'll be fine." He smiled at Harmony's glowing eyes. His own eyes seemed to have a new passion inside, one that no one had ever seen before. They leaned closer to each other, still holding on to one another's paws. Their eyes reflected the stars and moonlight outside which seemed to illuminate the small room.

"Maika... I..." Harmony started to feel the butterflies swarming inside her stomach. Maika gently put his paw on her lips.

"Shh..." That was all he said before he moved closer, feeling her warm breath on his face. He tilted his head to the side, paws shaking a little, eyes closed...

Then they kissed...

They moved their arms around each other as they kissed, holding tightly, never wanting to let go. They forgot all of their fears and worries and just stayed close to each other the rest of the night, with only the moon and the stars to shine upon their love.

**(A/N)** Well, I'll have the sequel up sometime! It'll be mostly about Melodie in her "teenage" years with Cappy and Penelope... and the other hams will be in there as well! Really hoped you enjoyed my first story


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